Battle of Callao
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Callao occurred on May 2, 1866 between a Spanish fleet under the command of Admiral
Casto Méndez Núñez and the fortified battery emplacements of the Peruvian port city of Callao
during the Chincha Islands War
. The Spanish fleet bombarded the port of Callao
(or El Callao), and eventually withdrew without any notable damage to the city structures, according to the Peruvian and American sources; or after having silenced almost all the guns of the coastal defenses, according to the Spanish accounts and French observers.
assumed the presidency of Peru in April 1863, at a time when Spain was making efforts to recover some prestige by recovering (or humiliating) its lost colonies in America. Spain began its campaign by seizing the Chincha Islands
, which were rich in guano
, and demanding indemnity
as recompense for the murder of two Spanish citizens in Lambayeque
.
Vacillating, President Pezet began removing vast quantities of Peru's guano deposits to give to Spain when Spanish ships threatened Callao and the neighboring coastline. Pezet believed that Peru’s naval forces were much too weak to challenge the Spanish fleet. In November 1865, at a moment of nationalism, Colonel Mariano Ignacio Prado
seized power from Pezet after a coup, and organized an effective defense against Spanish aggression that culminated with the Battle of Callao.
After the indecisive Battle of Abtao
in February 1866, Méndez Núñez decided to take punitive action against South American ports, his first target being the undefended Chilean port of Valparaíso
. The neutral British and American naval commanders in Chilean waters were unable to prevent this action, and the Spanish bombarded the town and destroyed the Chilean merchant fleet. When Hugh Judson Kirlpatrick, United States minister to Chile, asked the American naval commander Commodore John Rodgers to attack the Spanish fleet, Méndez Núñez responded with:
Méndez Núñez proceeded to seek such an honor for Spain by attacking a strong port, and changed his plans and went with his fleet towards the well-defended Peruvian port of Callao. The battle, starting on May 2, was characterized by arduous, long-range combat with ironclads utilized by both sides. Observing the combat were American
, British
and French
ships.
Prior to the battle, Peruvian president Mariano Ignacio Prado
rallied and mobilized the military and the townspeople against Spain. The strong forts and batteries of the stronghold at Callao, which had once repelled Sir Francis Drake and John Hawkins
, were reinforced with 5 heavy British-made 22-ton Blakely guns. Moreover, four Armstrong gun
s were placed in two armoured turrets, Junín and La Merced, both protected with a 10 cm thick iron belt. The Armstrong and the Blakely guns were the most potent cannons of the time, and they were a national pride for Peru. In total, the Peruvians had 52 guns and 13 additional guns mounted on the warships Colon, Tumbes, and Sachaca. Also, Peru had two locally built ironclads: The Confederate-style casemated ram ironclad Loa and the monitor Victoria, as well as infantry and cavalry.
The Spanish fleet, forming a V-shaped line of attack, enter into the bay at 10:00 hours, and formed two lines of battle: In the north, the ironclad Numancia and the frigates Almansa y Resolución, while the frigates Villa de Madrid, Berenguela and Reina Blanca moved south. The rest of the fleet, including the corvette Vencedora, remained back near the island of San Lorenzo
. The Numancia, one of the largest ships to have ever existed at the time, went forward in order to begin the attack.
At 11:50 hours, the ironclad Numancia opened fire on the defenses. The Peruvian fort Santa Rosa fired back soon after. No shot hit the Spanish warships, so the guns had to be recalibrated; a loss of time that could have been avoided if the Peruvian artillery had begun firing over the Spanish ships while they were taking up positions. When the batteries resumed their fire, a shot hit the Numancia injuring the Spanish Admiral Méndez Nuñez. The ship, however, suffered no damage thanks to its armor. The Cañón del Pueblo, a 500-pound Blakely gun, became unusable as the heavy recoil made it derail.
The Spanish frigate Villa de Madrid, meantime, was hit by a Blakely 450-pound projectile, which inflicted 35 casualties and destroyed her boilers. The ship had to be towed out of the battle by the corvette Vencedora, while she fired over 200 shots on the Peruvian forts during the maneuver. The Berenguela, pierced side-to-side at the waterline by an Armstrong 300-pound projectile, was also forced to retreat. She had silenced all the Amstrong guns from the Junín armoured turret. Also, the frigate Almansa was hit by another shot at 14:30, resulting in the deaths of 13 crewman and causing an explosion of her powder room, thus forcing her to retreat. Half an hour later, having made the necessary repairs, she returned to her position and resumed the action against the Peruvians.
By this time, there was heavy fire from both sides. A Spanish shot from the Blanca hit the armored turret La Merced, destroying it and killing or injuring 93 men, including Peruvian Secretary of Defense José Gálvez and colonels Cornelio Borda and Enrique Montes. Chacabuco battery was also affected, losing several cannons and a great number of its volunteer crew, as well as Santa Rosa and Pinchicha forts. In the first one was wounded Ship's captain Muñón, and the second one lost 2 cannons. In adittion, Maipú and Independencia batteries had been completely silenced. The Peruvian sustained then heavy casualties, as many of the 3,000 infantry and cavalry troops present during the battle had been entrenched outside the forts to prevent an alleged Spanish attempt of landing, suffering the gunfire of the Numancia, the Almansa, the Resolución and the Vencedora.
At 16:00, having been repelled the small Peruvian fleet under Lizardo Montero, which approached the Spanish twice, only 12 or 14 of Santa Rosa fort guns responded yet to the Spanish fire. One of their shots hit the Blanca, killing 8 men and injuring Captain Topete
. At 17:00, nevertheless, Santa Rosa's guns had reduced to three. The badly wounded Admiral Méndez Núñez ordered then to his fleet suspend the fire. The Spanish crews climbed to the rigging of their ships and shouted "Long live the queen". The battle was finished.
corvette Venus, who was present during the battle. Shortly after, a French newspaper published the following new:
On early June the news of the victory were celebrated in Spain with great festivities, whose benefits went to the widows and orphans of those who were killed in combat. Méndez Núñez was awarded with the Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Carlos III and was promoted to Lieutenant General
. The commanding officers of the ships involved on the combat were also promoted and their crews received double pay. In honor to them, on 20 July 1866, before the Battle of Lissa
, the Austrian
Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff
harangued his crews shouting “Let's imitate the Spanish at Callao!”
On the other hand, the Peruvians celebrated the battle as a victory, claiming that they had stopped the Spanish from trying to re-colonize South America. That was an exaggerated idea, for even though the attack might have simply been a way for Spain to regain some prestige, the Spanish invasion of the Chincha Islands and attempts to meddle with other South American countries seem to show a Spanish intention of regaining South America. In a private letter dated on May 3, 1866; an American eyewitness, T.H. Nelson, wrote:
A couple of months later, the famed ships of the War of the Pacific
, Huascar and Independencia, were added to the Peruvian fleet. While the war still remained without a peace settlement, the Peruvians contemplated the idea of invading the Philippines
to ward off the Spanish ships that were in the area. The nation hired Comodore John Randolph Tucker, who had outshone himself in the American Civil War
fighting for the Confederate States of America
. Nonetheless, various Peruvian officers felt insulted at such a decision since they felt that they had shown they were just as capable as any other officers to lead and win a naval battle. At the end, the idea was abandoned, but Tucker found another important job in the Peruvian Amazon. This event, along with the fear of a Spanish attack from the Atlantic due the presence in South American waters of the Spanish frigates Blanca, Resolución, Villa de Madrid, Almansa, Concepción and Navas de Tolosa along with the capture on August 22 of the unassigned Chilean corvette Tornado by the Spanish frigate Gerona prevented the expedition against the Philippines.
The Spanish expedition in the Pacific officially ended in 1868, but the peace was not signed until 1879.
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Casto Méndez Núñez and the fortified battery emplacements of the Peruvian port city of Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
during the Chincha Islands War
Chincha Islands War
The Chincha Islands War was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru and Chile from 1864 to 1866, that began with Spain's seizure of the guano-rich Chincha Islands, part of a series of attempts by Isabel II of Spain to reassert her country's lost...
. The Spanish fleet bombarded the port of Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
(or El Callao), and eventually withdrew without any notable damage to the city structures, according to the Peruvian and American sources; or after having silenced almost all the guns of the coastal defenses, according to the Spanish accounts and French observers.
Background
President Juan Antonio PezetJuan Antonio Pezet
Juan Antonio Pezet was a Peruvian military officer and politician who served in the positions of Secretary of War, Vice President and President of Peru during his life...
assumed the presidency of Peru in April 1863, at a time when Spain was making efforts to recover some prestige by recovering (or humiliating) its lost colonies in America. Spain began its campaign by seizing the Chincha Islands
Chincha Islands
The Chincha Islands are a group of three small islands 21 km off the southwest coast of Peru, to which they belong, near the town of Pisco,...
, which were rich in guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
, and demanding indemnity
Indemnity
An indemnity is a sum paid by A to B by way of compensation for a particular loss suffered by B. The indemnitor may or may not be responsible for the loss suffered by the indemnitee...
as recompense for the murder of two Spanish citizens in Lambayeque
Lambayeque, Peru
Lambayeque is a city in the Lambayeque region of northern Peru. It is notable for its exceptional museums featuring artefacts from local archaeological sites. The Bruning Museum, established in the early 1900s, contains hundreds of gold and silver pieces, as well as textiles and ceramics, from the...
.
Vacillating, President Pezet began removing vast quantities of Peru's guano deposits to give to Spain when Spanish ships threatened Callao and the neighboring coastline. Pezet believed that Peru’s naval forces were much too weak to challenge the Spanish fleet. In November 1865, at a moment of nationalism, Colonel Mariano Ignacio Prado
Mariano Ignacio Prado
Mariano Ignacio Prado Ochoa was twice the President of Peru, from 1865 to 1868 and 1876 to 1879).-Biography:Born in Huánuco in 1826, he entered the army at an early age and served in the provinces of Southern Peru....
seized power from Pezet after a coup, and organized an effective defense against Spanish aggression that culminated with the Battle of Callao.
After the indecisive Battle of Abtao
Battle of Abtao
The Naval Battle of Abtao took place on February 7, 1866, between a Spanish naval squadron and a combined Peruvian-Chilean fleet, at the island of Abtao in the Gulf of Ancud near Chiloé Archipelago in south-central Chile.-Background:...
in February 1866, Méndez Núñez decided to take punitive action against South American ports, his first target being the undefended Chilean port of Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
. The neutral British and American naval commanders in Chilean waters were unable to prevent this action, and the Spanish bombarded the town and destroyed the Chilean merchant fleet. When Hugh Judson Kirlpatrick, United States minister to Chile, asked the American naval commander Commodore John Rodgers to attack the Spanish fleet, Méndez Núñez responded with:
"I will be forced to sink the [United States] ships, because even if I have one ship left I will proceed with the bombardment. Spain, the Queen and I prefer honor without ships than ships without honor."
Méndez Núñez proceeded to seek such an honor for Spain by attacking a strong port, and changed his plans and went with his fleet towards the well-defended Peruvian port of Callao. The battle, starting on May 2, was characterized by arduous, long-range combat with ironclads utilized by both sides. Observing the combat were American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and French
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
ships.
Battle
The Spaniards arrived at Callao, on April 25, with 7 warships and 7 auxiliary ships carrying 252 guns, most of them (126 pieces) 68-pounder cannons. The Spanish ships included the ironclad Numancia and the steam frigates Reina Blanca, Resolución, Berenguela, Villa de Madrid, Almansa and the corvette Vencedora. A V-Shaped formation characterized the Spanish fleet, with the smaller ships on the back. Essentially, this was the most formidable fleet that had assembled up to that point in the waters of the American Pacific Ocean.Prior to the battle, Peruvian president Mariano Ignacio Prado
Mariano Ignacio Prado
Mariano Ignacio Prado Ochoa was twice the President of Peru, from 1865 to 1868 and 1876 to 1879).-Biography:Born in Huánuco in 1826, he entered the army at an early age and served in the provinces of Southern Peru....
rallied and mobilized the military and the townspeople against Spain. The strong forts and batteries of the stronghold at Callao, which had once repelled Sir Francis Drake and John Hawkins
John Hawkins
Admiral Sir John Hawkins was an English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader. As treasurer and controller of the Royal Navy, he rebuilt older ships and helped design the faster ships that withstood the Spanish Armada in 1588...
, were reinforced with 5 heavy British-made 22-ton Blakely guns. Moreover, four Armstrong gun
Armstrong Gun
The term Armstrong Gun was primarily used to describe the unique design of the rifled breech-loading field and heavy guns designed by Sir William Armstrong and manufactured in England from 1855 by the Elswick Ordnance Company and the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich...
s were placed in two armoured turrets, Junín and La Merced, both protected with a 10 cm thick iron belt. The Armstrong and the Blakely guns were the most potent cannons of the time, and they were a national pride for Peru. In total, the Peruvians had 52 guns and 13 additional guns mounted on the warships Colon, Tumbes, and Sachaca. Also, Peru had two locally built ironclads: The Confederate-style casemated ram ironclad Loa and the monitor Victoria, as well as infantry and cavalry.
The Spanish fleet, forming a V-shaped line of attack, enter into the bay at 10:00 hours, and formed two lines of battle: In the north, the ironclad Numancia and the frigates Almansa y Resolución, while the frigates Villa de Madrid, Berenguela and Reina Blanca moved south. The rest of the fleet, including the corvette Vencedora, remained back near the island of San Lorenzo
San Lorenzo Island, Peru
San Lorenzo Island is the largest island of Peru. The island is in the Pacific Ocean near the port of Callao and measures .-Access:As of 2011, San Lorenzo is not open to the public...
. The Numancia, one of the largest ships to have ever existed at the time, went forward in order to begin the attack.
The Spanish frigate Villa de Madrid, meantime, was hit by a Blakely 450-pound projectile, which inflicted 35 casualties and destroyed her boilers. The ship had to be towed out of the battle by the corvette Vencedora, while she fired over 200 shots on the Peruvian forts during the maneuver. The Berenguela, pierced side-to-side at the waterline by an Armstrong 300-pound projectile, was also forced to retreat. She had silenced all the Amstrong guns from the Junín armoured turret. Also, the frigate Almansa was hit by another shot at 14:30, resulting in the deaths of 13 crewman and causing an explosion of her powder room, thus forcing her to retreat. Half an hour later, having made the necessary repairs, she returned to her position and resumed the action against the Peruvians.
By this time, there was heavy fire from both sides. A Spanish shot from the Blanca hit the armored turret La Merced, destroying it and killing or injuring 93 men, including Peruvian Secretary of Defense José Gálvez and colonels Cornelio Borda and Enrique Montes. Chacabuco battery was also affected, losing several cannons and a great number of its volunteer crew, as well as Santa Rosa and Pinchicha forts. In the first one was wounded Ship's captain Muñón, and the second one lost 2 cannons. In adittion, Maipú and Independencia batteries had been completely silenced. The Peruvian sustained then heavy casualties, as many of the 3,000 infantry and cavalry troops present during the battle had been entrenched outside the forts to prevent an alleged Spanish attempt of landing, suffering the gunfire of the Numancia, the Almansa, the Resolución and the Vencedora.
At 16:00, having been repelled the small Peruvian fleet under Lizardo Montero, which approached the Spanish twice, only 12 or 14 of Santa Rosa fort guns responded yet to the Spanish fire. One of their shots hit the Blanca, killing 8 men and injuring Captain Topete
Juan Bautista Topete
Juan Bautista Topete y Carballo , Spanish naval commander and politician, was born in San Andrés Tuxtla, Mexico.His father and grandfather were also Spanish admirals...
. At 17:00, nevertheless, Santa Rosa's guns had reduced to three. The badly wounded Admiral Méndez Núñez ordered then to his fleet suspend the fire. The Spanish crews climbed to the rigging of their ships and shouted "Long live the queen". The battle was finished.
Aftermath
On the Spanish side the bombardment was seen as a victory. According to Admiral Méndez Nuñez's version, almost all of the coastal batteries were silenced during the engagement and only three guns of Santa Rosa’s fort continued firing when the Spanish fleet decided to retreat. He also reported that those last shots were fired without ammunition. This was confirmed by the Captain of the FrenchSecond French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
corvette Venus, who was present during the battle. Shortly after, a French newspaper published the following new:
On early June the news of the victory were celebrated in Spain with great festivities, whose benefits went to the widows and orphans of those who were killed in combat. Méndez Núñez was awarded with the Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Carlos III and was promoted to Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
. The commanding officers of the ships involved on the combat were also promoted and their crews received double pay. In honor to them, on 20 July 1866, before the Battle of Lissa
Battle of Lissa (1866)
The Battle of Lissa took place on 20 July 1866 in the Adriatic Sea near the Dalmatian island of Lissa and was a decisive victory for an outnumbered Austrian Empire force over a superior Italian force...
, the Austrian
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff
Wilhelm von Tegetthoff
Wilhelm von Tegetthoff was an Austrian admiral. Considered one of the prominent naval commanders of the 19th century, Tegetthoff was known for his innovative tactics as well as his inspirational leadership....
harangued his crews shouting “Let's imitate the Spanish at Callao!”
On the other hand, the Peruvians celebrated the battle as a victory, claiming that they had stopped the Spanish from trying to re-colonize South America. That was an exaggerated idea, for even though the attack might have simply been a way for Spain to regain some prestige, the Spanish invasion of the Chincha Islands and attempts to meddle with other South American countries seem to show a Spanish intention of regaining South America. In a private letter dated on May 3, 1866; an American eyewitness, T.H. Nelson, wrote:
"The damages caused to Callao are barely noticeable. The [Peruvian] batteries occupied the [Spanish] squad so much that there was no time to bombard the city." In fact, after the battle, the hyped up and surprising situation was so big that American and British troops witnessing the battle joined the cheers of "Viva el Perú!"
A couple of months later, the famed ships of the War of the Pacific
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
, Huascar and Independencia, were added to the Peruvian fleet. While the war still remained without a peace settlement, the Peruvians contemplated the idea of invading the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
to ward off the Spanish ships that were in the area. The nation hired Comodore John Randolph Tucker, who had outshone himself in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
fighting for the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. Nonetheless, various Peruvian officers felt insulted at such a decision since they felt that they had shown they were just as capable as any other officers to lead and win a naval battle. At the end, the idea was abandoned, but Tucker found another important job in the Peruvian Amazon. This event, along with the fear of a Spanish attack from the Atlantic due the presence in South American waters of the Spanish frigates Blanca, Resolución, Villa de Madrid, Almansa, Concepción and Navas de Tolosa along with the capture on August 22 of the unassigned Chilean corvette Tornado by the Spanish frigate Gerona prevented the expedition against the Philippines.
The Spanish expedition in the Pacific officially ended in 1868, but the peace was not signed until 1879.